Japan has developed quite a reputation for their vending machines. They just seem to have the weirdest and most random things available for purchase. And that is not a bad thing, by any means. On the contrary, it’s innovative and refreshing. But besides purchasing fresh fish and bicycles from a vending machine, you can now enjoy free Wi-fi! Asahi Soft Drinks developed a vending machine that not only dispenses soft drinks, but a wireless signal at absolutely no cost to the consumer.
The signal is good within a 50 meter radius and you can use it on your smartphone, tablet computer, laptop, or any other gadget that you have in tow. However, you can only be continuously connected to the signal for 30 minutes at a time. Once you get kicked off though, you can log right back on. All you have to do is handle an onset of annoying ads from local businesses after the initial login.
Asahi is hoping these nifty free wi-fi vending machines will expand their business by drawing in customers. I mean if you’re going to be sitting there for quite some time surfing the web, you might work up a thirst. They plan on releasing 1,000 machines within the next year and 10,000 within the next 5.